zankoku_zen

The Stardust label line is soooo pretty.

Cup of Death? I don't remember a BPAL called that... Unless it's a Salon, I lose track of those, especially the retail exclusives since they are so hard to obtain. It's a regular Salon. I think it's in Exhibit II, if memory doesn't fail me. I want to give a shout out to Ebisu in this one - for me it's a peach and nectarine having sex on the beach. Light, peachy and dead dead sexy.

This one was a faint fey sort of scent. That basically sunk into my skin. Very light and refresh. And has come back as laundry detergent. And here I thought patchouli would mess things up...

This one is a light, refreshing scent. I definitely get green tea from it. Unfortunately, as it dries, it veers from the green tea/light aquatic straight to generic dryer sheets. I should have punched the tires out at the green tea line, but that didn't happen.

I don't know what it is but there is something in this blend that has an almost 'waxy' consistency. It makes me think of mistletoe/Christmas candles that you see sold during Christmas - that end up being a little berry, a little floral, a little pine, and a little bit of everything that you associate with Christmas. At the beginning, it had an almost peppery overlay and as it dried it made me think of spicy cinnamon... and now, there is something a little 'off' that makes me think that it could be the hemp. No Go.

Oh, mint, I chase after you so. This on wet was a little minty slightly herbally scent. However, as it dried the mintyness went away, and I had a touch of apple blossom came out, and then as it dried I had berry hints. This really was a mish-mosh of things, and I am left a little befuddled. It was slightly earthy, and yet not. Slightly sweet, and yet not. It didn't give the impression of florals, nor of anything else. And yet... there's a vague, indescribable quality I can't put my finger on. Yes, very much the Fool.

Ah, at the beginning this was citrus/mint love. It was a little in your face lemon. But it was cool and airy. Now it's this weird dusty/powdery thing. I don't understand. No. Not at all.

Oh man, at the beginning I swear I smelled mangos and florals. And I look at the scent description, and there are none to be found. I get the 'mango' right off the imp --- but as it dries it becomes more floral. In fact, it seems to be a struggling match between violets and roses. The roses seem to have the violets on a chokehold. I'm surprised that freesia hasn't made an appearance ring-side, but perhaps it is too intimidated by the power of the roses. Unfortunately, it becomes a free for all and the resulting scent it something akin to the smell of nail polish remover on me. I'm going to declare annul this match, and call it a loss. Surprisingly, there are no riots.

I really got the limes in this. Cold, ice-encrusted limes powdering white flowers (possibly a hint of rose). This scent is cold, frozen (without being snowy) - it gives you the sense that time has passed by and yet this... heartache remains. It's got that bridal feel to it - but none of the joy. A very powerfully evocative scent.

Ah, Moana. You and I did not work out. I had high hopes for the awapuhi. And in fact, that delivered. It delivered me straight into the memories of White Rain shampoo - which I think there was an awapuhi one. Way back in the day. Never mind. If you want to relive lush tropical shampoo time, this one would be it. I liked the shampoo. But my perfume to smell like my shampoo? Not so much.

In the world of BPAL, there is a game. It's called Coconut Smash. I don't play this game very well. Or rather, Coconut beats me all the time. Here I am, jumping and climbing, trying to reach the vanilla and rum. And I get Malibu thrown at me. By the buckets. And it's a heavy coconut Malibu. Not for me.

Oh, blueberries, I so wanted to love you. These are blueberry sweet tarts! It's got the fizziness --- but I associated it with dissolving sugar in your mouth. Yes, blueberry sweet tarts. Tasty... but does anyone ever want to smell like Sweet Tarts?

Unfortunately, this was a tropical sweet soap. It didn't have the boozy fizziness of Blue Fire or some of the other blends... and it just blended into a nice, tropical sweet.... soap. SAAAAD.

Oh man, this went way way caramel heavy. It was a lush tropical scent, with a heavy caramel overtone that seemed to dominate. Not my style. At all.

This one is definitely fruity! I get a citrus sweet fruit, with just enough sugary buzz. As it dries, the scent is a little boozier than I'd like. Definitely one of the better Tikis for me.

Did anyone get Sweet Tarts at the beginning. Now its settled to a lush, tropical, sweet floral. Nice.

This was very black cherry soda at the beginning. Fairly effervescent. Unfortunately, it smells like burnt almonds and rum now. Sad.

This one was a light, fruity floral. It was soft and pretty. Very girlish. I can see this being appropriate for a young teenage girl.

This is a very 'thick' aquatic blend. I'd almost say heavy. It is kinda misty (I smell swirls of ozone), and a bit of a dandelion smell going on (very similar to Szepasszony in that sense). Oddly appealing but not great. Very interesting. It does put me in mind of a house on the beach by a foggy night.

For some reason this is very very faint on my skin. Smelled pleasant enough on wet, but definitely like a floral/herbal amber. And now that it's been dry and about an hour in, I can barely smell it. Ah well.

Oh man, this definitely has dragon's blood and jasmine. It's very strong, and it's a sweet, slightly spicy musky jasmine. I originally got this for my trip, but I'm not sure I'd wear it because I like the scent... on the other hand, the concept behind it is what I would use it for. I suppose in my head, this is more like a TAL blend, which you don't use for the scent alone, but rather for the purpose and intent behind it.

This was definitely minty at the beginning! Yeah! But as it dries, the mint became more herbal (I think it might have been rosemary) and now it's like a citrusy floral soap. Very pretty. But I was definitely going for the mint. And that burned off as it dried. Sad.

I got this mainly because I've tried all the other muses. I had given up hope of trying this one out because it wasn't very popular and it was discontinued before I realised I missed testing it. On me, this is pure sandalwood with a touch of floral sweetness. Ah yes, I smell like a dirty hippie. Which is totally a no-go for me.

I definitely get the cool aquatic citrus/grassy feel to it. Sporty. The grass turns a little more herbal, and I'm getting this slightly spicy note to the herb/grass. Definitely starts more unisex and ends up in masculine. Spider is smooth, seductive in a very in-control, charming sort of way, masculine without being in your face aggressive. Debonair.

On me, this is a weird blend. I thought the cream would be plasticky, but it's not. This is a creamy vanilla woodsy blend on wet, the vanilla tapers off a little as it dries and the amber comes into play. Unfortunately, the amber turns slightly powdery. It's like a vanilla/teak dusting powder on me. Nope. Not for me.